Has anyone got DCs who can't swim?

[GenerationGap]

That's it really, just feeling guilty that mine can't. Also is it true that swimming is now part of the National Curriculum at KS2 and therefore does the school have a duty to teach my children to swim?

[Eglu]

Swimming is part of the National Curriculum, but I would not expect that your DC will learn to swim very well in lessons from school. Huge numbers of children and they don't do it for very long is going to mean that they will not get the best learning experience.

[Chummybud1]

Me my dd is allergic to chlorine in the water so can't go for lessons.

[missmapp]

Schools do teach children to swim and the expected standard at the end of primary school is that they can swim 25m, having said that it helps hugely if dc are at least used to water and putting there face in etc, as school swimming lessons are not always long enough to get over fear issues and teach them how to swim.

[AandK]

I found swimming with school differs from county to county.

We've just moved from Lancashire to Yorkshire. In Lancashire KS2 go once a week all year round but in yorkshire they go for just 10 weeks in the summer!!

I found this quite terrible as my son is a keen swimmer so now he's having one to one tuition that costs almost £20 a week, expensive I know but he's really good now (Grade 5 and he's 9yo).

I think swimming is a life skill and even if you're not brilliant but can keep yourself afloat in the deep end of a pool than you're ok

[Chundle]

My dd is 7 at her school they just took them for 10 weeks over summer terms. However I taught dd to swim myself by taking her religiously once a week and she can now swim confidently 2 lengths. However my hubby can't swim and is petrified of water after near drowning incident as a child which is why I want dd to be good in the water

[fluffywhitekittens]

How old are your dc?

[NotJustKangaskhan]

ChummyBud My DD2 is allergic as well - seeing her react to it the first time we took her was horrid . I've actually been quite concerned about teaching as my husband's parents live right next to sea, we don't visit them long enough to teach her, but she'll likely want to go with the other kids when she's older.

OP My almost 7 year old cannot really swim - his legs just aren't strong enough yet to make the distance (He doesn't wear armbands, but he does have to stop a lot comparatively to the other kids in his class). We've been told that waiting another year and trying again will likely make a big difference (as well as gave us advice on how to build up his leg strength).

[Chummybud1]

Kangaskhan I know it's horrible and I too worry about my dd never learning to swim. I did however buy a wet suit and boogie board and take her in sea as often as I can, more for confidence than anything else. I also know a woman who covered her daughter in a layer of gasoline before going in pool, it worked for her daughter but not for mine.

[Meglet]

chummy You do mean vaseline don't you?!

[Chummybud1]

Ha ha ha yeah vasoline not gasoline stupid autofill and stupid me for not checking.

[thebeansmum]

AandK - Just interested to know why you pay £20 per week for one to one lessons? It seems a lot to shell out if your child is doing OK - clearly he is.

[monoid]

I have a friend whose dd couldn't swim when she started lessons at school (large family made it impossible to take all dc swimming at council pools) and she has come out the other end with 25m badge. I was a bit sceptical about school swimming lessons, but my dd progressed faster in them than the private ones I was getting her before that. I think it depends on the teachers and the child. There was one boy in dds class who didn't learn to swim at school because he just wasn't very confident, whereas my dd has confidence coming out of her ears and believes that she can do everything until proven wrong!

[Nihilisticbunny]

My dc can't swim, 7,4 and 1. We never had a nearby swimming pool with the 7yo, then we did and she had a scary incident. Also I am really fat and have a bad scar so won't do swimming so rely on dp. The 7 yo was coaxed into the pool and will now happily go swimming but can't actually swim iyswim, the 4yo is getting the hang of it and the 1yo hates it.

I have put the older childrens names down for lessons but god knows how long it will take to get them.

Children here only get school lessons in yr5 I think.

[AandK]

I actually share the cost with ex-p so I only actually pay £10 and he pays the other £10.

My son has come on leaps and bounds since he has been in one to one lessons. He spends the full half hour in the pool, the tutor is in there with him and she easily spots his strengths and weakness's so she can tell him what he needs to work on to improve his technique.

When he was in lessons with other children they had to take turns to do each thing so wasn't in the pool as much. The tutor was on the side of the pool so couldn't really see what was going on and they are all working towards the same grade so she wasn't moving him along with as quick as he was learning. she would just sign all the stronger ones off at the end and they'd move to the next grade. according to the one to one tutor he was much more advanced than the grade he'd been signed off on.

Also this is my sons hobby and I think it is a pretty good hobby for him to have.

[skewiff]

When you say your children are allergic to chlorine, what do you mean? Does their skin react? I am assuming because you are talking of covering them in vaseline.

My DS gets really congested after swimming. Not immediately, but when he is lying down at night. I always know to put cushions under his bed the night after swimming, otherwise he'll wake throughout the night, not being able to breathe.

Is this an allergy, do you think, to chlorine?

[NotJustKangaskhan]

shewiff It's possibly an allergy with the sensitivity being in the airways rather than on the skin (allergies are weird that way - they may only be allergic in certain areas). For my DD, it started as a skin reaction - she was held about chest high in the water. After a few moments was crying in pain and was pulled up to see a bright red rash spreading before our eyes. Later, we did notice a bad cough and she had a really bad night (though mostly because her skin still hurt as she wasn't in the water very long but was in the pool area for a while).

[NotJustKangaskhan]

*Skewiff, sorry for the misspelling .

[madhattershouse]

My dc's school have stopped doing swimming lessons and I'm really cross, I was counting on the lessons as having 6yo twins and a 4yo doing it myself is impossible and paying for private lessons is above my financial ability. Apparently they will check whether dcs can swim by year five and deal with it then to conform to national curriculem . Not good enough IMO!

[rockinhippy]

Here its YR3 & as already said they were crowded so didn't have any real idea of the DCs ability & played really safe with which group the DCs were put into eg ; DD was Stage 1, in with the total non swimmers in School lessons, yet started at stage 2 in the smaller out of school group - understandable from a H&S point of view, but not much good for helping them swim IYSWIM.

my own DD (8) could & couldn't swim until very recently - in that she could only swim UNDERwater - looks impressive & lots thought she swam like a fish as no fear & could zip underwater like a mini mermaid, but reality was if she fell in somewhere she would be in trouble as she couldn't swim above water at all & would panic

what WAS good about the School lessons, was that having tried to teach her ourselves - & failed - paid for lessons with another LA pool - who failed(because they were rubbish) - we found teachers who were great with kids - 2 sessions outside of School with the same teacher has her swimming well & she's just got her 20m badge :)

[SpottyFrock]

I disagree that it should be up to school to teach them. Learning to swim is an important life skill and as such, I think under most circumstances it is something a parent should do with preschoolers. I had 3 children under 5 but still took them swimming though mostly with dh at 8am on Saturday mornings when the pool was quiet. All 3 of mine could swim at least a length by the time they started school. Of course some children have allergies making this very difficult but most children should be taught early IMO.
They now have some one to one lessons which have hugely improved their stamina and technique and means they get more enjoyment out of the poolon holiday and things.

[lingle]

mine can't (nearly 6)and I am a truly wonderful mother

[DeWe]

Dd2 learnt to swim at school last year. They have a small outside pool and have lessons twice a week through the second half of the summer term. A lot of children learn to swim in them.
My brother refused to go into the water until he was 9. Then mum pointed out he was going to go with the school the next year and she wasn't going to write a note to get him out of it because he didn't want to go. He could swim by the time he went swimming with the school a few months later.

[PrettyCandles]

I could never manage after-school swimming lessons - dc3 was 'challenging', and waiting with him while the others had their lessons, plus dealing with thechanging room business, was too much for me to cope with. Instead I would book the elder two into intensive courses, 5 lessons in one week, a couple of times a year during the holidays. They would advance hugely during the courses, and because we often went to the pool as a family, they could then practice what they had learned. Ds1 learned to swim by about age 6 this way, but when our family swim habit lapsed dd had not got yet the hang of it. At 6 she could do the mermaid-swim thing, handstands, tumble-turns, etc, but could not come up for air without stopping.

So this year all 3 are having eekly swimming lessons. We found a lovely swimschool that runs several different level classes at the same time, so that siblings can all have their lessons at the same time. Within half a term dd was swimming competently and was moved up a level. Both the elder dc are now strong, confident swimmers. Not particularly fast, but with good technique. 4yo ds2 still has some way to go. After one term he is where dd was at 6.

My mother was terrified of swimming, so she made sure we could all swim. She herself learned to swim in her 60s! And nearly gave our dad a heart-attack by jumping in at the deep end without telling him she could now swim